


Lie To Me

by sam4587



Series: Merthurweek2021 aka Attempts At Angst [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Era, Established Relationship, How Do I Tag, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), M/M, Magic Reveal Goes Wrong, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), but they’re here so they get an honorable mention, just know that they’re in a relationship as the story begins I guess, merthurweek2021, no happy ending, oops sorry, open/ambiguous ending, the knights are only in here very briefly, well… I don’t know if this deserves that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 15:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30141492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam4587/pseuds/sam4587
Summary: In an ambush gone wrong, Merlin’s magic is revealed. Arthur doesn’t take it very well, to say the least.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthurweek2021 aka Attempts At Angst [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213214
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72
Collections: Merthur Week 2021





	Lie To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 5 of Merthurweek2021 with prompt “You actually thought I loved you?”
> 
> Back to the angst! Enjoy!  
> No beta, all mistakes are mine. If they bug you, feel free to point them out!
> 
> Title is from the song [Lie To Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKcGR3hexig) by 5 Seconds of Summer. Certain parts of the lyrics are quite fitting for this, in my opinion.
> 
> Disclaimer: The story is mine, BBC Merlin is not. Please do not repost.

Merlin had been twitchy all day. It was annoying Arthur to no extent.

“ _Mer_ lin, would you stop fidgeting? You’re giving me a headache from just _looking_ at you!”

Merlin frowned at him from his horse. “Something’s wrong, Arthur, can’t you feel that?”

Arthur huffed and rolled his eyes. “One of your funny feelings again? I’ve told you before, Merlin, you can’t just expect us to drop everything because you have the nervous system of a mouse. Everything’s going fine, there’s nothing to worry about. We’re almost back home, then you can get your feet in a nice hot bath and relax like the old lady you are. Okay?”

Merlin merely scowled at him and turned away. Arthur saw him scanning the tree line again, for what must be the fifteenth time in only a couple of minutes. He sighed and turned to Leon to start a conversation. By now, he knew there was not much else he could do or say that would set the mind of his lover at ease.

“Look out!” Elyan’s scream cut through the air when Leon fell to the ground and the knights reacted immediately. They formed a circle around the fallen knight, with their backs to each other, and got ready to fight for their lives.

For several moments, nothing happened. Then, Gwaine grunted as he too fell to the ground, quickly followed by Percival. Arthur and Elyan startled and looked around, but there was still nothing to see. When Arthur looked at his three knights motionless on the ground, a nasty feeling started settling in his gut. There was no blood, no arrows, nothing to suggest they had been taken out by any weapons.

Which led Arthur to the obvious conclusion. They were being attacked by a sorcerer.

He gestured at Elyan to rearrange their stance, so they were standing on opposite sides of the fallen knights. He was so busy trying to check on everyone’s safety, he forgot to look after the most important person in their company.

“Stop!” Merlin’s voice echoed through the air, and Arthur’s head snapped up. How had he forgotten to check on Merlin?!

Before he had time to think about that, he saw what Merlin was looking at – who his command had been directed at. Between the trees, there stood a cloaked figure, hidden by the shadows. Merlin, the idiot, had placed himself between the knights and the figure.

“Merlin! What are you doing?! Get over here, you’re going to get yourself killed!” Arthur hissed. Merlin ignored his king completely.

“What do you want from us?” he asked the figure. Arthur couldn’t help but to be surprised at the sudden authority his voice held.

The hooded figure stepped out from under the trees. They lowered their hood and Arthur flinched back when he saw the scarred face of a young man. It looked like he had survived a fall in a fire or something equally horrible. Merlin, to his credit, didn’t move from his spot.

“I want what is mine. I want freedom, I want justice.” Arthur couldn’t suppress a soft groan when the man started his monologue. He honestly thought he’d die of _boredom_ if he had to hear one of those again.

Merlin seemed to think the same thing. “I don’t care about your quest for vengeance. You’re just the same as everyone else. You blame Arthur for what his father did. Well, let me tell you, Arthur is a far better king than his father ever was, and he doesn’t have to answer for the crimes of the previous king. Leave us alone.”

At this point, Arthur was staring at Merlin with his mouth hanging open a little. The man was full of surprises, he thought. He couldn’t let his servant do everything for him, though.

“He’s right. Leave us, and we might let you live. This is your final chance,” he said, stepping forward until he was standing next to Merlin. Merlin looked at him sideways.

That was his mistake. The moment Merlin averted his eyes from the man, he threw up his hands and yelled some incomprehensible words. Something that looked like red lightning shot from the palms of his hands, straight towards Arthur. All the latter could do was stare at sudden death rushing at him.

Just before the light hit him, an orange glare appeared in the air in front of him. The beam of light ricocheted and crashed into some trees. Arthur flew backwards from the impact and landed with his head hard on the ground. Merlin was on him in seconds, and the last thing Arthur saw before he lost consciousness, was the gold leaving his eyes. Then, everything went dark.

-*-*-*-

He woke up with the world’s worst headache. Arthur groaned and raised his hand to his head in a feeble attempt to stop the ringing in his ears. When it finally disappeared and his vision cleared, he was met with two blue eyes staring at him from _very_ close by.

Merlin flinched back when Arthur startled. A relieved smile appeared on his face.

“Arthur! You’re awake! Thank the goddess, I thought you’d be out forever!”

Slowly, Arthur noticed more of their surroundings; they were still on the place of the attack, he saw, because the ground around them was-

Black, as if a giant fire had raged through.

He immediately forgot his wounds and got to his feet. When Merlin approached, he raised his hands in a clear gesture for him to stay back. Arthur saw his eyes go dark with disappointment when the meaning of the gesture got through to him.

“Arthur-” he began, but Arthur cut him off.

“You’re a sorcerer. You have magic,” he said, his hands still raised in front of his chest while he stepped back further. Merlin took a step forward, his face pleading, but Arthur reached for the sword on his waist. His hand came up empty, but the gesture was clear to Merlin. He stopped in his tracks and straightened himself up.

“Yes, and I use it for you. I always have, and I always will.”

Arthur didn’t say anything and kept one eye on him while he looked around for his sword. He found it standing against a tree behind Merlin. It vaguely crossed his mind that Merlin must’ve taken it off while he was unconscious.

Oh gods. Merlin was a sorcerer. He’d been lying this whole time. _This whole time_.

Suddenly, it got too much. Arthur exploded.

“You’re a sorcerer! You’ve been lying to me! How long have you been practicing magic?! How long have you been betraying me?”

Merlin flinched back when he started screaming, but that didn’t stop him from answering. “I was born with my magic. I’ve never known anything else. I didn’t-” He trailed off, his eyes gliding over the tree line. That didn’t exactly calm Arthur down.

“Face me! You’re a traitor! At least have the guts to look me in the eyes! You’ve been lying to my face for years, don’t chicken out now!”

Merlin’s face went blank. “I don’t chicken out of things. I never have. Do you have any idea what I’ve done for you? The things I’ve had to endure? The people I have lost because of you? No, you don’t, because you don’t see me. You only see what you want to see. This is exactly the reason I couldn’t tell you the truth! This is exactly the way I feared you would react when you finally got to see the real me! I can’t believe I ever believed you’d be different from Uther. I can’t-”

Arthur seethed at the comparison with his father. “I’m nothing like my father! The kingdom is faring much better under my rule! I’ve done-”

“You’ve done nothing! You’ve changed some tiny laws, you’ve signed some treaties! That’s all! Magic is still outlawed, my people are still being murdered because of who they are! You’re supposed to bring magic back to the land, but you’ve changed nothing! Everything is still the same! I still have to hide who I am, I still have to fear for my life! Every single day! I have nightmares every night, I have to save your ass every other day! I saved your life just now, and you still don’t see me for who I am! You’re so blinded by your hatred, you’re so hung up on the ideas Uther got into your head!”

“Of course magic is still outlawed! I lost both my parents to magic! It corrupts, it’s evil, I will never allow it to reign over this kingdom freely! My father has gone through so much trouble to rid us of it, I’m not going to throw that all away! Magic is- it’s pure evil!” he repeated.

Merlin slumped at his words. “You don’t- you’re not getting- you don’t get it. It’s- I- Magic is so much more than what you think it is. It’s a force of nature, it can be used to do such beautiful things. It’s a tool, nothing more. Just like a sword. It can be used to harm others, but it can also be used to protect the weak. It’s _more_ than a sword, even. Magic can heal, it can grow, it’s- Magic is in _everything_. It’s everywhere around us, and I wish I could make you see how beautiful it can be.”

Arthur shook his head. Merlin’s suddenly soft tone had taken him aback a little, but that wasn’t enough to change his mind. Besides-

“How could you lie to me? We’ve shared so much together. We’ve… we’ve slept together, I gave you my everything. And yet, you didn’t give me anything in return. You kept yourself hidden. How could you?”

Merlin’s shoulders crept up to his shoulders, as if he physically wanted to protect himself from Arthur’s words. “I’ve told you. You were- I was waiting for the right moment. I never meant- I hated lying to you. I never meant for you to find out like this. I’m sorry,” he whispered. He cowered into himself even further. The look of it made Arthur want to scream.

“Stop it. Stop trying to find excuses for yourself. Stop trying to- to make me-”

“I love you, Arthur. I always have,” Merlin interrupted him. “I know you-”

Arthur stopped him before he could finish that sentence. “No. Don’t tell me that. You don’t have the right to- You actually thought I loved you?”

It was like he had hit Merlin in the face. Several times. He took three steps back before he stopped, looking at Arthur with tears brimming in his eyes. “Arthur-” he whispered.

Arthur cut him off again. “I was in love with a lie. I don’t love you, Merlin, because I could never love a sorcerer. You told me a lie, and I fell in love with that lie. I fell in love with a person that doesn’t exist – a person that has never existed.” His hands started shaking and he felt a lump forming in his throat. He forced back the tears threatening to come out; whether they were tears of grief or because of the betrayal, he didn’t know. He didn’t _want_ to know.

Merlin’s knees buckled and he fell on the ground. Arthur scoffed in an attempt to hide his own feelings.

“Get up. Don’t try and play the vulnerable victim now. This is all your own doing. You brought this upon yourself.” He walked over to Merlin and went to grab him by the arm to pull him up. Merlin flinched away from him and put the distance back between them.

“What are you going to do?” he asked, and Arthur felt his heart plummet when he heard the sudden fear in his voice. He shook the feeling off and took a step towards Merlin.

“You’re coming back with us to Camelot. We’ll decide your fate there.”

Merlin’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “No. I’m not coming back with you if you’re going to lock me in the dungeons. I don’t- No,” he repeated, his hands clenching to fists. Arthur frowned.

“Yes, you are. I’m your king, and you will do as I say!” For the first time since waking up, Arthur looked around him – really looked around, instead of searching for his sword as he had before. “Where are my knights? What did you do to them?”

Merlin shook his head and raised his hands. “I didn’t do anything to them. They’re my friends. They were knocked out from- from the blast. They’re lying a little further down the path. I made a fire and tended to them, but I had to get to you too. You were more badly wounded than any of-”

Arthur cut him off. “Fine, shut up already. I don’t want to hear too much from you. You better hope they’re fine, for your own sake. Now, get here, so we can go to Camelot.”

Merlin backed away again. “I told you. I’m not going back if you’re locking me up. I don’t want to leave you, but if that’s what it takes to have my freedom, I will. I won’t be locked up.”

Before Arthur could say anything else, Merlin had muttered something and he couldn’t move his feet anymore.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to use my magic on you like this. But you leave me no choice. I’m- I love you, Arthur. Please don’t forget that.” With that, Merlin turned around. Arthur couldn’t do anything as he disappeared between the trees. He didn’t make a sound despite the dry leaves on the ground and he didn’t leave any footprints. The moment he was out of sight, Arthur could move again. He ran after Merlin, but had to give up soon; there was no trace of him anywhere. The king returned and when he arrived back at the cursed place everything went down, Leon and Elyan just appeared.

“Where’s- Sire! There you are! Where’s Merlin? We just woke up, and we were all-” Leon broke off when he saw Arthur’s face. “Sire?”

“Sir Leon. Merlin won’t be coming back with us. Where are the others? We need to get back to Camelot before dark.”

Leon shot him a look. He must’ve seen something in Arthur’s face, because he decided not to argue. He nodded and pointed them towards the other knights. As they checked everyone over and prepared to leave, Arthur couldn’t get rid of the numb feeling that had overtaken him. The feeling that told him something was missing. Some _one_ was missing.

When they left some time later, one empty horse with them, Arthur wished Merlin was there to annoy him. The things he would give or do for that to happen…

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! [This is my Tumblr](https://sam4587.tumblr.com/), if you’re interested.


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